Hybrid bricks

Published on 19 May 2022. Written by Salman Mohammed

The building materials play a major role in our national economy. From stones, we have shifted to bricks and now more advanced compressed stabilized earth bricks can be used which are also called as “HYBRID BRICKS”. This bricks can be used for almost all the applications of burnt clay bricks.

Hybrid bricks are completely eco-friendly and don’t need any fuel for burning bricks. They are advantageous in terms of transportation as it is not required. Hybrid bricks can be made without any energy resources.

Compressed earth blocks can be stabilized or not, but most of the times they are stabilized with cement or lime. We prefer today to call them compressed stabilized earth bricks (CSEB). The input of soil stabilization allowed people to build higher with thinner walls. These walls have higher compressive strength and water resistance. With cement stabilization, they must be cured for 4 weeks after manufacturing. After that, the bricks can be used as the normal bricks with mortar in construction.

Materials used: Sole ingredients of CSEB are red sand or laterite soil since it occupies a large amount of land in India. The soil should contain minimum amount of silt and clay.

The main objective of the soil stabilization is to enhance soil resistance to the erosive effects of the weather conditions. The use and adoption of the right soil stabilization technique can improve the compressive strength to 400% to 500%. Cement is the best-suited stabilizer. For effective stabilization, cement content should be in between 6 to 8%.

An additive is a substance added during manufacture to intend the final characteristics. The most common additives are cement, lime, pozzolana. There are also some additives to give color, tensile strength and reduce shrinkage cracks.

The Process of production:

The production of CSEB is based on the principle of densification. Raw earth is mixed with stabilizer in small quantities.
The mix preparation follows sieving, batching, and mixing the raw soil.
The compaction is done after filling the mould and ejection of blocks and stacking is also done.
After the production, the curing is done and bricks can be used.

After the manufacturing and curing, there are few tests to be performed such as water absorption test and crushing strength test. Water absorption should not exceed 20%. The minimum strength of bricks is 3.50 N/mm2.

Advantages:

The cost of a single brick is about RS 2.50/-
It can be prepared at nearby sites without much complex process.
Reduction in the cost of transportation.
It helps for afforestation as there is no burning process.
The strength of bricks is high when compared to other bricks.

Conclusion: Hybrid bricks are more useful for the construction where the normal bricks are not available. Hybrid bricks are more economical and energy efficient.

Kit required to develop Hybrid bricks:

Technologies you will learn by working on Hybrid bricks:

Hybrid bricks

Any Questions?

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